Sisters To St. Paul
Day 15

Date: August 9, 2005

Route: Lake Waukenabo - Brainerd

Distance: 63 miles

Ride Time: 4h 25m

Elevation Climbed: 640’

Weather: rain and sun 67–83 degrees

Log

It was the rain that woke me up at 3:45AM. I was at first very happy. The weather had broken. The oppressive heat was over and it was early enough in the morning that surely it would pass by 7AM. When I heard the thunder and lightning in the distance I tracked it moving slowly toward our cabin. The important word here is slowly. At 7AM the storm was exactly over our heads and seemed to linger there, blowing the trees, saturating the ground, and pocking the lake. I looked out the screen door and got a nice surprise: loons swimming and plaintively calling on the water. At last I’ve gotten to hear a loon!

 

 

And now the dilemma: do I just get out there or do I linger in bed? No help from Jon … he thinks any bicycle ride over 40 miles that doesn’t involve sun and a restaurant is crazy. I decided to wait until the thunder and lightning passed and then make a decision. At 8:00 we got in the car to check out my route. I certainly didn’t want to be riding in the rain on bad roads with poor visibility. The Great River Road is meant for cars, not bicycles. I’ve had to reroute a little because of gravel and freeway stretches. I wanted a look at what the day held for me, check the mileage, and give the storm time to abate.

I finally got going at 11:15. It was still raining, as you can see. I covered my seat with garbage bags in a futile attempt to keep the road splash off of me. I endured two short showers but since the temperature was warm I wasn’t all that miserable. I decided to listen to a local boot-stompin’ true country radio station to trump any misery I might encounter. I bopped down the road singing along with Loretta Lynn ignoring the muddy stripe accumulating on my back and neck. And hair. And legs. You get the idea. Then, wonder of wonder, it stopped. Rain coat off, sun glasses on.

One section of my route was on new, beautiful road. The surface was smooth and it was finished all the way to the edge. I know I often mention road surface, but it is the most important factor in how much I enjoy the ride. The relentless cracks and bumpy patch jobs make me crazy. Jon explained that years ago Minnesota tried to improve its roads by laying concrete slabs. The freeze/thaw cycle caused them to buckled unevenly and the remedy of tar patches exacerbated the situation. Now they are tearing up some of the old roads and replacing them with continuous pour concrete. When I find one of these on my route, I’m ecstatic!

I crossed the Mississippi many times today. This shot from a bridge in Bainerd shows how wide it has grown and how the rain had changed its color.

Jon met me with great news … we would have fish for dinner! He caught sunfish, crappie, rock bass, and blue gill. We bought some fresh corn from a roadside stand and cooked some north- country wild rice. We both had a great day!